acquisition anniversary

Aug 30, 2017

We are into celebrating anniversaries – employees’, milestones, and even acquisitions. 2017 marks the one year anniversary of two important acquisitions Synapse made in 2016 – Magazine Discount Center and Bizrate Insights.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. According to the Harvard Business Review, between 70-90% of business acquisitions fail, a staggering range. With that in mind, we wanted to make sure that we weren’t adding to this unflattering statistic; rather we were helping to bring the average down. Immediately upon our decision to move forward, our team began the arduous due diligence process. Both companies had been partners of our in the past and Sebastien Bilodeau, our CEO, noted that since we had prior working knowledge of the companies, it really helped us to be prepared. We liked to think no stones were left unturned in the process, but only time would tell…

The whole acquisition process was so interesting to those of us not intimately involved; we got curious about how an acquisition happens. Luckily, Sebastien was more than wiling to lift the hood on what the process had been like for these two important additions to our company. He hosted a Curiosity Series entitled, “We wanted to acquire a company, here’s how we did it…” During this 90-minute session, Sebastien shared the ins and outs of the acquisition process. “It was a lot about having a strategic game plan and connecting a lot of dots,” Sebastien said. “It’s also about creating a win-win for the seller and for Synapse.” While preparation was definitely key, it was also critical to channel empathy to envision ourselves in the seller’s shoes. Other factors to evaluate included the existing employee base – talent, skill, and culture would all play an important part in the long-term success of the acquisition.

Once the acquisition was complete, all of that due diligence was put to the test. Were any stones left unturned? Did we miss something major? “I wanted to see how the year went. There is always some apprehension about whether the integration of companies will work,” Sebastien said. Fortunately, we are happy to report that both Magazine Discount Center and Bizrate Insights have been great additions which have fueled our growth and broadened Synapse’s offerings and skills. “The acquisition phase is obviously important, but execution post-acquisition is what’s most important. Without that, we’d be in that 70-90% failure group. I’m pleased to report that these two acquisitions are shaping up to be great successes!” noted Sebastien.